A Minecraft Movie‘s big budget means it will need an even stronger box office performance to be considered a success. Played by beloved actors, A Minecraft Movie‘s misfit characters accidentally travel to a cubic world of vibrant and endless creation, embarking on a fun and thrilling adventure to return home. Announced back in 2014, the Minecraft film has been a long topic of discussion. As its release approaches, it’s time to analyze its box office potential compared to other major video game adaptations.
Due to A Minecraft Movie‘s similarities to the Jumanji movies, it is expected to be a mᴀssive box office hit, though how big is yet to be seen. Notably, Jared Hess’ movie initially faced backlash, with some comparing it to Borderlands and predicting its flop at the box office. However, A Minecraft Movie‘s second trailer seems to have shifted the audience’s perception, sparking excitement among fans and younger audiences. With growing anticipation for its April debut, A Minecraft Movie now appears poised to surpᴀss several of the most successful live-action video game adaptations.
A Minecraft Movie’s Budget Is Reportedly $150 Million
A Minecraft Movie Is The Most Expensive Video Game Adaptation Since Detective Pikachu
Jared Hess’ upcoming movie boasts a budget higher than most video game movies, surpᴀssing those of even the two highest-grossing adaptations, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. A Minecraft Movie reports a $150 million budget (via The Hollywood Reporter), sharing the figure with Warner Bros.’ other live-action adaptation, Detective Pikachu. Notably, Jumanji: The Next Level — arguably the closest picture comparison in terms of premise and visual effects — falls about $25 million short of matching A Minecraft Movie‘s mᴀssive production cost.
Warner Bros.’ latest video game adaptations have been the costliest, but not necessarily expected to have the biggest box office returns. Among these films, Detective Pikachu garnered $433 million, slightly less than Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3, while Columbia Pictures’ Jumanji movies each earned more than $800 million. Lastly, the top-grossing video game movie of all time is still Universal, Illumination, and Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Movie, which dominated the box office with a staggering $1.3 billion.
A Minecraft Movie’s Opening Weekend Box Office Projections
A Minecraft Movie Is Expected To Exceed $60 Million On Its Opening Weekend
A Minecraft Movie has already set a ticket pre-sales record, beating all recent 2025 PG releases, including Paddington in Peru, Dog Man, and Snow White. Fandango’s EVP described the anticipation for A Minecraft Movie as “overwhelmingly high among video game fans, families and beyond.” (via ᴅᴇᴀᴅline) With plenty of callbacks to the bestselling game and a star-studded cast that includes names like Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, and Emma Myers, the film is poised for immediate success — potentially even launching Warner Bros.’ next major franchise.
|
Top Video Game Movies Box Office & Budget |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
тιтle |
Budget |
Opening Weekend |
Worldwide Box Office |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) |
$122,000,000 |
$60,102,146 |
$491,115,100 |
|
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) |
$100,000,000 |
$146,361,865 |
$1,360,847,665 |
|
Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) |
$20,000,000 |
$80,001,720 |
$291,493,620 |
|
Detective Pikachu (2019) |
$150,000,000 |
$54,365,242 |
$433,305,346 |
Premiering on April 4, A Minecraft Movie is projected to earn more than $60 million on its opening weekend. If the movie hits this milestone, it will have outperformed most video game adaptations, except for The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Five Nights At Freddy’s — which saw openings of $146 million and $80 million, respectively. Among all of 2025’s upcoming video game movies, A Minecraft Movie faces just one major compeтιтor, and that’s the highly anticipated sequel to Blumhouse and Universal Pictures’ hit survival horror adaptation.
A Minecraft Movie Likely Needs To Make Over $375 Million To Be A Box Office Success
A Minecraft Movie Is Set For Mᴀssive Box Office Success
Even if A Minecraft Movie fails to meet its expected $60 million opening, it could still achieve box office success. Notably, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle only made $36 million on its first weekend but went on to gross a total of $962 million worldwide. For a film to be considered profitable, it typically needs to earn at least two and a half times its budget. If early reactions to A Minecraft Movie are any indication, the тιтle is poised not only to turn a strong profit but to exceed expectations and become a major box-office hit.
Essentially, A Minecraft Movie needs to make over $375 million to be deemed a success — an achievable goal, considering even Detective Pikachu exceeded that mark despite having arguably less anticipation. While fan reactions to A Minecraft Movie‘s first trailer mocked its visual animation and rejected Jack Black’s casting as Steve, audiences seem to have warmed up to the concept. A Minecraft Movie‘s impressive second trailer has sparked an unexpected wave of excitement, and the film is now on track for a mᴀssive win, with this weekend’s box office performance likely to confirm it.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Box Office Mojo
